Decorative grass formed of cloth and polymeric film

ABSTRACT

Decorative grasses formed from a laminated material constructed of a layer of cloth and at least one layer of polymeric film wherein at least one surface of the laminate is provided with a decorative pattern or design. At least a portion of the layer of polymeric film is laminated to the layer of cloth, as well as methods for forming same, are disclosed herein.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/195,026, filedJul. 9, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,620, entitled “DECORATIVE GRASSFORMED OF CLOTH AND POLYMERIC FILM”, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser.No. 09/636,539, filed Aug. 10, 2000, entitled “WRAPPER FOR FLOWER POT”,the contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods for forming wrappers for flowerpots and floral groupings, and more particularly but not by way oflimitation, to methods for forming wrappers for flower pots and floralgroupings from a sheet of material constructed from natural or syntheticfibers or combinations thereof in combination with at least onepolymeric film.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet of material constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet of material similar to the sheetof material of FIG. 1, the sheet of material having a bonding materialdisposed along one edge thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet of material constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 2 having afloral grouping disposed thereon.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the floral grouping of FIG. 4 beingwrapped with the sheet of material of FIG. 2 by one method of wrapping.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a decorative cover for the floralgrouping formed from the sheet of material of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a decorative coverfor the floral grouping formed from the sheet of material of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a decorative cover positioned about aflower pot wherein the decorative cover is formed from the sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a flower pot cover former and bandapplicator device having the sheet of material of FIG. 1 disposed abovean opening in the flower pot cover former and band applicator device andhaving a flower pot disposed above the sheet of material.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a floral sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the floral sleeve of FIG. 10 disposedabout a floral grouping.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a floral sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention, the floral sleeve having acinching member.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the floral sleeve of FIG. 12 disposedabout a floral grouping.

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a detachable portionconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 14 having a flowerpot disposed therein.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the flower pot disposed in the sleeveof FIG. 15 wherein an upper portion of the sleeve has been removed toprovide a decorative cover having a skirt.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a ribbon material formed from a sheetof material constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of a system for making decorativegrass from a sheet of material constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a segment of decorative grass producedfrom a sheet of material constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Sheets of material constructed in accordance with the present inventionmay be employed to provide a decorative cover for a floral grouping(FIGS. 4-7) or a decorative cover for a flower pot (FIG. 8); to providea sleeve for wrapping or covering a floral grouping (FIGS. 10-13) or aflower pot (FIGS. 14-16); to provide a ribbon material (FIG. 17) or toproduce decorative grass (FIG. 19). Such uses of the sheets of materialof the present invention will be described in detail herein after withreference to FIGS. 4-19.

The term “flower pot” as used herein refers to any type of container forholding a floral grouping, a plant, or any another pot-type container.Examples of flower pots and/or pot-type containers include, but are notlimited to, clay pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots made from naturaland/or synthetic fibers, or any combination thereof. Such flower potsand/or pot-type containers are provided with a retaining space forreceiving a floral grouping. The floral grouping may be disposed withinthe retaining space of the flower pot with a suitable growing medium, orother retaining medium, such as a floral foam. It will also beunderstood that in some cases the floral grouping, and any appropriategrowing medium or other retaining medium, may be disposed in a sleeveformed from the sheet of material constructed in accordance with thepresent invention if the sleeve is adapted to contain a medium.

“Floral grouping” as used herein refers to cut fresh flowers, artificialflowers, a single flower or other fresh and/or artificial plants orother floral materials and may include other secondary plants and/orornamentation or artificial or natural materials which add to theaesthetics of the overall floral grouping. Further, the floral groupingmay comprise a growing potted plant having a root portion as well.However, it will be appreciated that the floral grouping may consist ofonly a single bloom or only foliage, a botanical item, or a propagule.The term “floral grouping” may be used interchangeably herein with theterms “floral arrangement”, “botanical item” and/or “propagule.”

The term “growing medium” when used herein refers to any liquid, solidor gaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term “botanical item” when used herein refers to a natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plant, taken singularly or incombination. The term “botanical item” also refers to any portion orportions of natural or artificial herbaceous or woody plants includingstems, leaves, flowers, blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, takensingularly or in combination, or in groupings of such portions such asbouquets or floral groupings.

The term “propagule” when used herein refers to any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

Description of FIGS. 1-3

Referring now to the Drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, showntherein is a sheet of laminated material 10 constructed in accordancewith the present invention. The sheet of laminated material 10 comprisesa layer of cloth 12 and a layer of polymeric film 14. The sheet oflaminated material 10 has an upper surface 16, a lower surface 18, afirst side 20, a second side 22, a third side 24 and a fourth side 26.

The layer of polymeric film 14 is laminated to the layer of cloth 12 byany method known in the art so that one surface of the laminatedmaterial 10, such as the upper surface 16, is cloth and the secondsurface of the laminated material 10, such as the lower surface 18, ispolymeric film.

The term “cloth” as used herein will be understood to include any typeof fabric material, including woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, weldedfabric, spun bonded fabric, knitted fabric, pressed fabric, other typesof fibrous material, and combinations thereof. Examples of cloth includefabrics formed from natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, hair,burlap, and linen, as well as synthetic fibers such as rayon andpolyester, and blends thereof, such as denim.

The term “polymeric film” as used herein includes synthetic polymerssuch as polypropylene, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, extrudedpolymeric materials having an expanded core such as extrudedpolypropylene having an expanded core, naturally occurring polymers suchas cellophane, and combinations thereof. The extruded polymeric materialhaving an expanded core may also be referred to herein as an expandedcore polymeric material.

“Extruded polymeric material having an expanded core” or “expanded corepolymeric film” as used herein refers to any extrudable polymericmaterial or polymeric film in which the core is expanded duringextrusion, such as by incorporation of a blowing agent in the polymericresin which is being extruded.

The layer of polymeric film 14 may also be constructed, in whole or inpart, from a cling material. “Cling material” when used herein refers toany material which is capable of connecting to the sheet of materialand/or itself upon contacting engagement during the wrapping process andis wrappable about an item whereby portions of the cling materialcontactingly engage and connect to other portions of another material,or, alternatively, to itself, for generally securing the materialwrapped about at least a portion of a flower pot. This connectingengagement is preferably temporary in that the material may be easilyremoved, i.e., the cling material “clings” to the flower pot.

As stated herein before, at least a portion of the layer of polymericfilm 14 may be laminated to the layer of cloth 12 to form the sheet oflaminated material 10 by any method known in the art. For example, U.S.Pat. No. 4,297,811 entitled “Laminated Printed Foil Flower Pot Wrap WithMulticolor Appearance” issued to Weder on Nov. 3, 1981, which is herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference, describes a method forlaminating two sheets of material using a bonding material. The layer ofpolymeric film 14 may be laminated to the layer of cloth 12 using acolored adhesive so as to impart a desired color to the sheet oflaminated material 10.

The sheet of laminated material 10 is illustrated as being square. Itwill be appreciated, however, that the sheet of laminated material 10can be of any shape, configuration or size as long as the sheet oflaminated material 10 is sufficiently sized and shaped to wrap andencompass a floral grouping or flower pot. For example, the sheet oflaminated material 10 may have a rectangular, round, oval, octagonal orasymmetrical shape.

In addition, the layer of cloth 12 and the layer of polymeric film 14may be any shape, configuration or size as long as the sheet oflaminated material 10 formed therefrom can function as described herein.Further, the layer of cloth 12 and the layer of polymeric film 14 mayhave different shapes. In this manner, the sheet of laminated material10 may be provided with various asymmetrical shapes.

The layer of cloth 12 may be substantially the same size as the layer ofpolymeric film 14, or the layer of cloth 12 may be substantially largerin width and/or length than the layer of polymeric film 14. For example,the layer of polymeric film 14 may only be present on the portion of thesheet of laminated material 10 which will form a base portion of adecorative cover so as to impart water impermeability to the baseportion of the decorative cover, while the layer of cloth 12 may extendbeyond the layer of polymeric film 14 and form a skirt portion of thedecorative cover which serves only a decorative function and does notrequire water impermeability.

Further, multiple sheets of laminated material 10 may be used in asingle circumstance to provide a decorative cover or sleeve for a floralgrouping or a flower pot. Moreover, when multiple sheets of laminatedmaterial 10 are used in combination, the sheets of laminated material 10need not be uniform in size or shape.

Any thickness or stiffness of the layer of cloth 12 and the layer ofpolymeric film 14 may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sheet of laminated material 10 can be wrappedabout at least a portion of a floral grouping or a flower pot to form adecorative cover for the floral grouping or flower pot, or formed into asleeve for wrapping or covering a floral grouping or a flower pot, or toprovide a ribbon or decorative grass. Generally, the layer of cloth 12will have a thickness in a range of from about 0.5 mil to about 30 mil,and desirably from about 0.6 mil to about 10 mil, and the layer ofpolymeric film 14 generally will have a thickness in a range of fromabout 0.5 mil to about 30 mil, and desirably from about 0.6 mil to about2 mil. While the thickness of the sheet of laminated material 10 canvary widely and will generally depend on the thicknesses of the layer ofcloth 12 and the layer of polymeric film 14, desirable results can beobtained where the sheet of laminated material 10 has a thickness in arange of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil, and desirably from about0.5 mil to about 20 mil.

The sheet of laminated material 10 may vary in color, depending at leastin part on the type of cloth utilized as the layer of cloth 12 fromwhich the sheet of laminated material 10 is constructed. The layer ofpolymeric film 14 may be tinted, or the layer of polymeric film 14 maybe laminated to the layer of cloth 12 using a tinted bonding material,which can also provide the sheet of laminated material 10 with variouscolors. Further, the sheet of laminated material 10 may have decorativepatterns or designs which are provided on at least one surface thereofwhich may be provided by printing, embossing, matting, texturing,flocking, application of foamable lacquers or foamable inks, andvariations thereof and combinations thereof.

Shown in FIG. 2 is a sheet of laminated material 10 a constructed inaccordance with the present invention. The sheet of laminated material10 a has an upper surface 16 a, a lower surface 18 a, a first side 20 a,a second side 22 a, a third side 24 a and a fourth side 26 a. The sheetof laminated material 10 a is constructed of a layer of cloth 12 a and alayer of polymeric film 14 a.

A bonding material 30 is disposed on at least a portion of at least oneof the upper and lower surfaces 16 a and 18 a of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a. The bonding material 30 is depicted in FIG. 2 as beingdisposed on the upper surface 16 a of the sheet of laminated material 10a substantially adjacent the third side 24 a and extending as a stripbetween the first and second sides 20 a and 22 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a. The bonding material 30 may cover a portion ofthe upper surface 16 a and/or lower surface 18 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a, or the bonding material 30 may entirely coverthe upper surface 16 a and/or lower surface 18 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a. The bonding material 30 may be disposed on theupper surface 16 a and/or lower surface 18 a of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a in the form of a strip or in the form of spaced-apartspots. Methods for disposing a bonding material 30 on the sheet oflaminated material 10 a are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637,entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping”, issued to Weder, etal. on May 12, 1992, which is expressly incorporated herein byreference.

The term “bonding material” when used herein includes adhesives, such aspressure sensitive adhesives, cohesives or any combination thereof. Suchbonding materials are known in the art and are commercially available.When the bonding material 30 is a cohesive, a similar cohesive materialmust be placed on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting andbondingly engaging with the cohesive material.

The term “bonding material” also includes materials which are heatsealable and, in this instance, the adjacent portions of the materialmust be brought into contact and then heat must be applied to effect theseal. The term “bonding material” also includes materials which aresonically sealable and vibratory sealable. The term “bonding material”when used herein also includes a heat sealing lacquer or hot meltmaterial which may be applied to the material and, in this instance,heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be applied to effect thesealing.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also includes any type ofmaterial or element which can be used to effect the bonding orconnecting of the two adjacent portions of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a to effect the connection or bonding described herein. Theterm “bonding material” may also include ties, labels, bands, ribbons,strings, tapes (including single or double-sided adhesive tapes),staples or combinations thereof. Some of the bonding materials wouldsecure the ends of the material while other bonding materials may bindthe circumference of a cover, or a sleeve, or, alternatively and/or inaddition, the bonding materials would secure overlapping folds in thematerial and/or sleeve.

Alternatively, a cold seal adhesive may be utilized as the bondingmaterial 30. The cold seal adhesive adheres only to a similar substrate,acting similarly as a cohesive, and binds only to itself. The cold sealadhesive, since it bonds only to a similar substrate, does not cause aresidue to build up on equipment, thereby both permitting much morerapid disposition and use of such equipment to form articles andreducing labor costs. Further, since no heat is required to effect theseal, the dwell time, that is, the time for the sheet of material toform and retain the shape of an article, such as a flower pot cover orflower pot, is reduced. A cold seal adhesive binds quickly and easilywith minimal pressure, and such a seal is not readily releasable. Thischaracteristic is different from, for example, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

The term “bonding material” when used herein also includes any heat orchemically shrinkable material, and static electrical or otherelectrical materials, chemical welding materials, magnetic materials,mechanical or barb-type fastening materials or clamps, curl-typecharacteristics of the film or materials incorporated in material whichcan cause the material to take on certain shapes, cling films, slots,grooves, shrinkable materials and bands, curl materials, springs, andany type of welding method which may weld portions of the material toitself or to the pot, or to both the material itself and the pot.

Shown in FIG. 3 is a sheet of laminated material 10 b constructed inaccordance with the present invention. The sheet of laminated material10 b has an upper surface 16 b, a lower surface 18 b, a first side 20 b,a second side 22 b, a third side 24 b and a fourth side 26 b. The sheetof laminated material 10 b is constructed of a layer of cloth 12 b and afirst layer of polymeric film 14 b and a second layer of polymeric film14 b′. The layer of cloth 12 b is depicted as being disposed between thefirst and second layers of polymeric film 14 b and 14 b′ such that thefirst layer of polymeric film 14 b forms the upper surface 16 b of thesheet of laminated material 10 b and the second layer of polymeric film14 b′ forms the lower surface 18 b of the sheet of laminated material 10b.

The first and second layers of polymeric film 14 b and 14 b′ may besubstantially the same size, and the first and second layers ofpolymeric film 14 b and 14 b′ may be substantially the same size as thelayer of cloth 12 b or larger or smaller than the layer of cloth 14 b.Alternatively, the first and second layers of polymeric film 14 b and 14b′ may be different sizes, and each of the first and second layers ofpolymeric film 14 b or 14 b′ may be substantially the same size as thelayer of cloth 12 b or larger or smaller than the layer of cloth 12 b.

Description of FIGS. 4-7

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate the use of the sheet of laminated material 10 ahaving the bonding material 30 disposed thereon for wrapping a floralgrouping 32 having a bloom portion 34 and a stem portion 36 to provide adecorative cover 40 (FIG. 6) for the floral grouping 32. The decorativecover 40, which is provided with a substantially conical configuration,has an open upper end 42 and a lower end 44.

The bonding material 30 disposed on the sheet of laminated material 10 amay have a backing or release strip (not shown). The backing or releasestrip may be left applied for a period of time to the bonding material30 after it is disposed on the upper or lower surface 16 a or 18 a ofthe sheet of laminated material 10 a prior to its use as a wrappingmaterial in order to protect the bonding qualities of the strip ofbonding material 30.

In operation, an operator may dispose the sheet of laminated material 10a on a support surface 46 whereby the upper surface 16 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a contacts the support surface 46. The floralgrouping 32 is placed upon the lower surface 18 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a in a diagonal orientation. The sheet oflaminated material 10 a is then wrapped about the floral grouping 32 bythe operator (FIGS. 5 and 6), the operator overlapping a portion of thesheet of laminated material 10 a over another portion of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a. That is, for example, the operator places thesecond side 22 a of the sheet of laminated material 10 a over the floralgrouping 32, as shown in FIG. 5. The operator continues to roll thefloral grouping 32 and the sheet of laminated material 10 a in thedirection indicated by the arrow 48 toward the first side 20 a of thesheet of laminated material 10 a until the lower surface 18 a of thesheet of laminated material 10 a substantially adjacent the third side24 a thereof firmly engages the upper surface 16 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a. In this position, the bonding material 30 onthe lower surface 18 a of the sheet of laminated material 10 a contactsthe upper surface 16 a of the sheet of laminated material 10 a toprovide the decorative cover 40 which substantially encompasses andsurrounds a substantial portion of the floral grouping 32.

FIG. 6 shows the floral grouping 32 wrapped in a conical fashion toprovide the decorative cover 40 for the floral grouping 32. When thefloral grouping 32 is wrapped in a conical fashion, the bloom portion 34of the floral grouping 32 is exposed substantially adjacent the openupper end 42 of the decorative cover 40, and the stem portion 36 of thefloral grouping 32 is exposed substantially adjacent the lower end 44 ofthe decorative cover 40.

In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 7, the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a having the bonding material 30 disposed on the uppersurface 16 a thereof is utilized to wrap the floral grouping 32 in acylindrical fashion to provide a decorative cover 40 a for the floralgrouping 32. The floral grouping 32 is disposed upon the sheet oflaminated material 10 a approximately parallel to the third side 24 a ofthe sheet of laminated material 10 a. The sheet of laminated material 10a is wrapped generally about the stem portion 36 of the floral grouping32 to a position wherein the third side 24 a of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a generally overlaps the fourth side 26 a of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a in a cylindrical fashion. As before, the portionof the sheet of laminated material 10 a substantially adjacent the thirdside 24 a is disposed generally adjacent another portion of the sheet oflaminated material 10 a, such as the portion of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 a substantially adjacent the fourth side 26 a (as shown inFIG. 7), and the two adjacent portions then are brought into contactwhere they may be bondingly engaged via the bonding material 30, therebysecuring the sheet of laminated material 10 a generally about the floralgrouping 32 so as to provide the decorative cover 40 a for the floralgrouping 32. The decorative cover 40 a so formed is provided with anopen upper end 42 a and an open lower end 44 a. However, it should benoted that the sheet of laminated material 10 a may be wrapped aplurality of times about the stem portion 36 of the floral grouping 32before the overlapping of the third side 24 a and the fourth side 26 aof the sheet of laminated material 10 a to form the decorative cover 40a and, if desired the open lower end 44 a of the decorative cover 40 amay be closed such as by crimping and the like.

Description of FIGS. 8-9

In another version of the invention, the sheet of laminated material 10described hereinabove with reference to FIG. 1 may be used to wrap aflower pot or pot-type container. Shown in FIG. 8 is a flower pot 50having an open upper end 52, a lower end 54, an outer peripheral surface56, and an inner retaining space 58 within which may be disposed agrowing medium 60 and a botanical item, such as a plant 62 having anupper portion 64 comprising blooms or foliage or both. The sheet oflaminated material 10 is wrapped about the outer peripheral surface 56of the flower pot 50 to provide a decorative cover 66.

Any one of numerous methods known in the art may be used to wrap thesheet of laminated material 10 about the flower pot 50 to form thedecorative cover 66. For example, the sheet of laminated material 10 maybe formed by hand about the outer peripheral surface 56 of the flowerpot 50 to produce the decorative cover 66, which can then be securedabout the flower pot 50 by a bonding material or by an elastic band 68such that the open upper end 52 of the flower pot 50 remainssubstantially uncovered by the decorative cover 66 substantially asshown in FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flower pot cover former and band applicatordevice 70 for forming the sheet of laminated material 10 into thedecorative cover 66 for the flower pot 50 of FIG. 8 is illustrated. Theflower pot cover former and band applicator device 70 comprises a bandapplicator 72 and a flower pot cover former 74. The flower pot coverformer and band applicator device 70 has a support platform 76 with anopening 78 formed therein. A band, such as the elastic band 68, isdisposed circumferentially about the opening 78 in the support platform76.

The sheet of laminated material 10 is positioned on an upper surface 80on the support platform 76 so as to be positioned over the opening 78 inthe support platform 76. The upper surface 16 of the sheet of laminatedmaterial 10 is depicted as being positioned on the upper surface 80 ofthe support platform 76. However, it should be understood that the lowersurface 18 of the sheet of laminated material 10 may be positioned onthe upper surface 80 of the support platform 76.

The flower pot 50 is positioned above the sheet of laminated material 10and is moved in a direction indicated by the arrow 82 into the opening78 in the support platform 76 of the flower pot cover former and bandapplicator device 70. As the flower pot 50 is moved into the opening 78,the sheet of laminated material 10 is pressed about the outer peripheralsurface 56 of the flower pot 50 thereby forming the decorative cover 66about the flower pot 50. The decorative cover 66 is then secured aboutthe flower pot 50 by the elastic band 68. The flower pot 50 having thedecorative cover 66 secured thereto is then moved in a directionindicated by the arrow 84 out of the opening 78 in the support platform76 of the flower pot cover former and band applicator device 70.

The elastic band 68 can be applied manually or automatically such as bythe method shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,599, issued to Weder et al. onApr. 21, 1992, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference. The elastic band 68 can also be applied as a tie using amethod such as described in “Single Station Covering and FasteningSystem”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,009, issued to Weder et al. on Mar. 11,1997, the specification of which is hereby expressly incorporated hereinby reference. The sheet of laminated material 10 can also be appliedautomatically about the flower pot 50, for example, by methods shown inU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,521 and 5,291,721, both of which are herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

Instead of securing the decorative cover 66 about the flower pot 50 viathe elastic band 68, the decorative cover 66 formed from the sheet oflaminated material 10 may be secured to the flower pot 50 by the use ofone or more bonding materials. For example, the lower surface 18 of thesheet of laminated material 10 may have a bonding material such as thebonding material 30 disposed upon a portion thereof. When the sheet oflaminated material 10 is disposed about the flower pot 50, at least aportion of the lower surface 18 of the sheet of laminated material 10contacts the outer peripheral surface 56 of the flower pot 50 and isthereby bonded and held about the flower pot 50 via the bonding material30.

Description of FIGS. 10-13

Shown in FIG. 10 and designated therein by the general reference numeral90 is a flexible bag or sleeve 90 constructed in accordance with thepresent invention. The sleeve 90 may be used as a decorative cover 92for a floral grouping or a flower pot (FIG. 11). The sleeve 90 initiallyis in a flexible flattened state or condition which is openable to anopen state or condition capable of receiving a floral grouping or apotted plant.

The sleeve 90 has an open upper end 94, a lower end 96 and an outerperipheral surface 98. The lower end 96 of the sleeve 90 may be open orclosed with a bottom at the lower end 96. The sleeve 90 also has aninner peripheral surface 100 which defines and encompasses an innerretaining space 102. When the lower end 96 of the sleeve 90 is closed, aportion of the lower end 96 may be inwardly folded to form one or moregussets (not shown) for allowing the lower portion of the innerretaining space 102 to be expandable, for example, for receiving thecircular bottom of a flower pot.

The sleeve 90 may be tapered outwardly from the lower end 96 toward alarger diameter at its upper end 94. In its flattened state the sleeve90 generally has an overall cylindrical or frusto-conical shape, andwhen opened is substantially frusto-conical in configuration. It will beappreciated, however, that the sleeve 90 may have variations on theaforementioned shapes or may have significantly altered shapes such assquare or rectangular or any geometric, non-geometric, asymmetricaland/or fanciful shape or configuration, as long as the sleeve 90functions in accordance with the present invention in the mannerdescribed herein. The sleeve 90 may also be equipped with drain holes(if having a closed bottom) or side ventilation holes (not shown), orcan be made from gas permeable or impermeable materials.

The sleeve 90 may be constructed from either of the sheets of laminatedmaterial 10 or 10 b. Any thickness of the material from which the sleeve90 is constructed may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sleeve 90 may be formed as described herein andas long as the sleeve 90 may contain at least a portion of a flower potor a floral grouping, as described herein. Additionally, an insulatingmaterial such as bubble film can be utilized in order to provideadditional protection for the item, such as a floral grouping, containedtherein.

In FIG. 11 the sleeve 90 is illustrated as having the floral grouping 32described hereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 4-7 disposed within theinner retaining space 102 of the sleeve 90. Generally, the bloom portion34 of the floral grouping 32 is disposed substantially adjacent the openupper end 94 of the sleeve 90 and the stem portion 36 of the floralgrouping 32 is disposed substantially adjacent the lower end 96 of thesleeve 90. Either end of the sleeve 90 may be closed about the floralgrouping 32. Generally, a portion of the sleeve 90 is tightened about aportion of the stem portion 36 of the floral grouping 32 for holding thedecorative cover 92 about the floral grouping 32. For example, thesleeve 90 may be held by a banding element 104 tied about the sleeve 90such as is shown in FIG. 11. The step of tying the banding element 104about a portion of the sleeve 90 results in a crimping of such portionof the sleeve 90 such that the crimped portion of the sleeve 90substantially conforms to the stem portion 36 of the floral grouping 32.While the banding element 104 has been illustrated herein as a string orribbon, it is to be understood that the banding element 104 can beelastic or non-elastic bands, elastic or non-elastic string, an elasticor non-elastic piece of material, a round piece of material, a flatpiece of material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip, a piece of plasticstrip, a piece of wire, a tie wrap, a twist tie or combinations thereof.

Other methods for binding the sleeve 90 about the floral grouping 32 maybe employed such as the bonding materials described elsewhere herein.For example, shown in FIG. 12 is a sleeve 90 a which is substantiallysimilar to the sleeve 90 described hereinbefore with reference to FIG.10, except that the sleeve 90 a also comprises a cinching tab 106 havinga bonding material 108 disposed upon a surface thereof. Upon disposal ofthe floral grouping 32 in an inner retaining space 102 a of the sleeve90 a, the cinching tab 106 can be used to gather portions of the sleeve90 a together about the stem portion 36 of the floral grouping 32 asshown in FIG. 13 and bondingly connected to the sleeve 90 a for holdingthe sleeve 90 a about the floral grouping 32, thereby forming adecorative cover 92 a which is bound about the floral grouping 32.

Description of FIGS. 14-16

Shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 is another embodiment of a sleeve designated bythe reference numeral 110 and constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The sleeve 110 may be constructed from a laminated materialsimilar to the sheets of laminated material 10 or 10 b describedhereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The sleeve 110 has one or more“detaching” elements in predetermined areas for detaching a portion ofthe sleeve 110, as will be described in more detail herein after. Thesleeve 110 generally is initially in a flexible flattened state orcondition which is openable to an open state or condition capable ofreceiving a flower pot or growing medium therein.

The sleeve 110 has an upper end 112, a lower end 114, and an outerperipheral surface 116. The sleeve 110 may be open at the lower end 114or closed with a bottom at the lower end 114. In a flattened state, thesleeve 110 has a first side 118 and a second side 120. The sleeve 110also has an inner peripheral surface 122 which, when the sleeve 110 isopened, defines and encompasses an inner retaining space 124 as shown inFIG. 15. When the lower end 114 of the sleeve 110 is closed, a portionof the lower end 114 may be inwardly folded to form one or more gussets(not shown) for permitting a circular bottom of an object such as theflower pot 50, described hereinbefore with reference to FIG. 8, to bedisposed in the inner retaining space 124 of the lower end 114 of thesleeve 110.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the sleeve 110 is demarcated into an upperportion 126 and a lower portion 128. The lower portion 128 of the sleeve110 is generally sized to contain the flower pot 50. The upper portion126 of the sleeve 110 is sized to substantially surround and encompassthe plant 62 contained in the flower pot 50 disposed within the lowerportion 128 of the sleeve 110. The sleeve 110 is demarcated into theupper portion 126 and the lower portion 128 by a detaching element 130for enabling the detachment of the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110from the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110. In the present version,the detaching element 130 is a plurality of alternatingdiagonally-oriented perforations which extend circumferentially acrossthe outer peripheral surface 116 of the sleeve 110 from the first side118 to the second side 120.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the lower portion 128 of thesleeve 110 further comprises a base portion 132 and a skirt portion 134.The base portion 132 of the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110comprises that part of the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110 which,when the flower pot 50 is placed into the lower portion 128 of thesleeve 110, has an inner peripheral surface 122 which is substantiallyadjacent to and surrounds the outer peripheral surface 56 of the flowerpot 50. The skirt portion 134 of the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110comprises that part of the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110 whichextends beyond the open upper end 52 of the flower pot 50 and surroundsat least a portion of the plant 62 contained within the flower pot 50and which is left to freely extend at an angle, inwardly or outwardly,from the base portion 132 when the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110is detached from the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110.

In the intact sleeve 110, the skirt portion 134 of the sleeve 110 isprovided with an upper peripheral edge 135 congruent with the detachingelement 130; and the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 is providedwith a lower peripheral edge 137 which is also congruent with thedetaching element 130. In FIGS. 14 and 15, the upper peripheral edge 135of the skirt portion 134 of the sleeve 110 is congruent with a series ofalternating diagonally-oriented lines of perforations which togetherform a zig-zag and comprise the detaching element 130.

The upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 may also have an additionaldetaching element 136 indicated as a plurality of vertical perforationsfor facilitating removal of the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 andwhich extends between the detaching element 130 of the sleeve 110 andthe upper end 112 of the sleeve 110.

The upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 is thereby separable from thelower portion 128 of the sleeve 110 by tearing the upper portion 126along both the detaching element 130 and the detaching element 136,thereby separating the upper portion 126 from the lower portion 128 ofthe sleeve 110. The lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110 remains disposedas the base portion 132 about the flower pot 50 and as the skirt portion134 about a lower portion of the plant 62 disposed in the flower pot 50,thereby forming a decorative cover 138 as shown in FIG. 16 whichsubstantially surrounds and encompasses the flower pot 50 and a portionof the plant 62 contained therein.

While the detaching elements 130 and 136 have been shown and describedherein as being a plurality of perforations, it is to be understood thatthe term “detaching element” as used herein, means any element, orcombination of elements, or features, including perforations, tearstrips, zippers, and any other devices or elements or combinationsthereof capable of functioning to assist in the removal of the upperportion 126 of the sleeve 110 from the lower portion 128 of the sleeve.

The upper and lower portions 126 and 128 of the sleeve 110 may be formedof a two or three-layered laminated material similar to the sheets ofmaterial 10 and 10 b described hereinbefore and consisting of a layer ofcloth similar to the layers of cloth 12 or 12 b and at least one layerof polymeric film similar to the layers or polymeric film 14, 14 band/or 14 b′. Alternatively, only the lower portion 128 of the sleeve110 may be formed of a two-layered material and the upper portion 126 ofthe sleeve 110 formed of a single layer of material, that is, the lowerportion 128 may consist of a layer of cloth 12 or 12 b and one or morelayers of polymeric film 14, 14 b and/or 14 b′, and the layer of cloth12 or 12 b extends therefrom and forms the upper portion 126 of thesleeve 110 while the layer of polymeric film 14, 14 b and/or 14 b′ isonly present in the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110. Alternatively,only the base portion 132 of the lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110 maybe formed of a two-layered material, and the skirt portion 134 of thelower portion 128 as well as the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 areformed of a single layer, that is, the layer(s) of polymeric film 14, 14b and/or 14 b′ may only be present in the base portion 132 of the lowerportion 128 of the sleeve 110, while the layer of cloth 12 or 12 b ispresent in both the upper and lower portions 126 and 128 of the sleeve110. By providing the layer(s) of polymeric film 14, 14 b and/or 14 b′in only selected portions of the sleeve 110, the areas of the sleeve 110which are substantially water impermeable can be controlled, while thesingle layer of cloth 12 or 12 b present alone may provide decorativeeffects different from those observed when the layer(s) of polymericfilm 14, 14 b and/or 14 b′ is in contact therewith or laminated thereto.

In a general method of use of sleeve 110 as the decorative cover 138 forthe flower pot 50, an operator provides the sleeve 110 and the flowerpot 50 having a plant 62 disposed in a growing medium 60 containedwithin the inner retaining space 58 of the flower pot 50. The operatorthen manually or automatically disposes the flower pot 50 into the innerretaining space 124 of the sleeve 110, the flower pot 50 being disposedgenerally through the upper portion 126 of the sleeve 110 into generallythe lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110, the flower pot 50 remaining inthe lower portion 128 of the sleeve 110, permitting the sleeve 110 tosubstantially surround and encompass the flower pot 50 and the plant 62disposed in the flower pot 50. It will be understood that alternatively,the sleeve 110 may be provided with an extension (not shown), and thesleeve 110 may be disposed on rods or wickets, and the flower pot 50 maythen be disposed in the sleeve 110 either before or after the sleeve 110has been removed from the wickets.

As noted above, a bonding material may be disposed on a portion of thesleeve 110 or any sleeve described herein to assist in holding thesleeve 110 to the flower pot 50 when the flower pot 50 is disposedwithin the sleeve 110 or to assist in closing the upper end 112 of thesleeve 110.

It will be understood that the bonding material, if present, may bedisposed as a strip or block on a surface of the sleeve 110. The bondingmaterial may also be disposed upon either the outer peripheral surface116 or the inner peripheral surface 122 of the sleeve 110, as well asupon the outer peripheral surface 56 of the flower pot 50. Further, thebonding material may be disposed as spots of bonding material, or in anyother geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric, or fanciful form, and in anypattern, including covering either the entire inner peripheral surface122 and/or outer peripheral surface 116 of the sleeve 110 and/or theflower pot 50. The bonding material may be covered by a cover or releasestrip which can be removed prior to the use of the sleeve 110 or flowerpot. The bonding material can be applied by methods known to those ofordinary skill in their art. One method for disposing a bondingmaterial, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,111,637, issued to Weder et al. on May 12, 1993, which is herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

As noted above, a bonding material may be disposed on at least a portionof the inner peripheral surface 122 of the sleeve 110, or,alternatively, the bonding material may be disposed on the outerperipheral surface 56 of the flower pot 50 contained within the sleeve110, while the sleeve 110 may be free of the bonding material. In afurther alternative, the bonding material may be disposed both on atleast a portion of the flower pot 50 as well as upon at least a portionof the inner peripheral surface 122 of the sleeve 110. In addition, aportion of the bonding material may also be disposed on the outerperipheral surface 116 of the sleeve 110 as well. It will be understoodthat the bonding material may be disposed in a solid section of bondingmaterial. The bonding material, when present, is disposed on the sleeve110 and/or flower pot 50 by any method known in the art.

Description of FIG. 17

Referring now to FIG. 17, designated generally by the reference numeral140 is a ribbon material constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The ribbon material 140 can be wrapped about items and formedinto bows and other decorative ornamentations containing ruffles, loopsand curved segments. The ribbon material 140 is provided with an uppersurface 142 and a lower surface 144. The ribbon material comprises alayer of cloth 146 and a layer of polymeric film 148, wherein the layerof cloth 146 is substantially similar to the layers of cloth 12 and 12 bof the sheets of laminated material 10 and 10 b, and the layer ofpolymeric film 148 is substantially similar to the layer of polymericfilms 14, 14 b and 14 b′ of the sheets of laminated material 10 and 10b. The layer of cloth 146 and the layer of polymeric film 148 may belaminated together by any method known in the art. In addition, a secondlayer of polymeric film (similar to the second layer of polymeric film14 b′ of the sheet of laminated material 10 b described hereinbeforewith reference to FIG. 3) may be laminated to the unlaminated surface ofthe layer of cloth 146 to form a three-layered material.

The ribbon material 140 may be formed from a sheet of material invarious ways which are known in the art. For example, the sheet ofmaterial may be provided as a roll of material, and material withdrawnfrom the roll may be passed through a knife assembly having a pluralityof cutting elements which cuts the sheet of material into strips havinga uniform, predetermined width to form the ribbon material 140.

The ribbon material 140 so produced can then be wound via take uprollers to produce spools of the ribbon material 140 in a conventionalmanner. It should also be understood that one could produce the sheet ofmaterial from which the ribbon material 140 is constructed so that suchsheet of material has a width which corresponds to the desired width ofthe ribbon material 140. In such event, the cutting of the sheet ofmaterial to produce the ribbon material 140 can be eliminated. Theproduction of ribbon material from webs or sheets of material is wellknown. Thus, no further description of the production of the ribbonmaterial 140 from the sheet of material is believed necessary.

Description of FIGS. 18 and 19

Referring now to FIG. 18, designated generally by the reference numeral150 is a system for producing decorative grass 152 constructed inaccordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 19, thedecorative grass 152 is provided with an upper surface 154 and a lowersurface 156. The decorative grass 152 may be formed from any of thesheets of laminated material 10 or 10 b described hereinbefore withreference to FIGS. 1-3. Therefore, the decorative grass 152 comprises alayer of cloth 158 and a layer of polymeric film 160, wherein the layerof cloth 158 is substantially similar to the layers of cloth 12 and 12 bof the sheets of laminated material 10 and 10 b, and the layer ofpolymeric film 160 is substantially similar to the layer of polymericfilms 14, 14 b and 14 b′ of the sheets of laminated material 10 and 10b.

Referring again to FIG. 18, a roll 162 of material formed of the sheetsof laminated material 10 or 10 b is supported on a mandrel 164 having abrake assembly 166 operably connected thereto so that the material canbe controllably withdrawn from the roll 162. The material withdrawn fromthe roll 162 is passed through a pair of tension or nip rollers 168 and170 and into a slitter or shredder unit 172 where the material from theroll 162 is slit to provide a slit web of material 174 having aplurality of strips of predetermined width. The slitting of the materialfrom the roll 162 to produce the slit web of material 174 having aplurality of strips of predetermined width can be accomplished using anywell known method and device. Such common methods of slitting thematerial from the roll 162 include: (a) slitting the material to produceside-by-side strips of material wherein the longer dimension of thestrips is in the direction of travel of the material, i.e. the machinedirection; or (b) slitting the material so that the longer dimension ofthe strips of material are oblique to the direction of travel of thematerial, i.e. obliquely to the machine direction.

The slit web of material 174 having a plurality of strips ofpredetermined width is then passed through a cutting unit 176 where thestrips of the slit web of material 174 are cut into segments to form thedecorative grass 152. A segment 178 of the decorative grass 152 isillustrated in FIG. 19.

Any conventional device and method can be employed as the slitter orshredder unit 172 and as the cutting unit 176. Examples of conventionaldevices which can be used as the slitter or shredder unit 172 and/or asthe cutting unit 176 are rotary knives, reciprocating knives, diecutting, laser cutting, water jet cutting, air jet cutting and the like.

The decorative grass 152 can then be conveyed to a storage area (notshown) which may be in the form of a suitable bin, or the decorativegrass 152 may be conveyed to a packaging machine, or conveyed to abaling machine for baling prior to storage. As other alternatives, thedecorative grass 152 may be placed into boxes or cartons, subjected tofurther processing immediately or held for subsequent processing.

The decorative grass 152 can also be provided with various types of curlconfigurations, can be crimped or otherwise modified. That is, varioustypes of curls, crimps and combinations thereof can be imparted to thematerial of the roll 162 prior to slitting the material of the roll 162to produce the slit web of material 174, or to the slit web of material174 prior to cutting the slit web of material 174 to produce thedecorative grass 152. Any method or apparatus capable of imparting thedesired curl and/or crimp to the material of the roll 162 so that thedecorative grass 152 produced from such material possess a curl and/orcrimped configuration can be employed to impart a curl and/or crimp tothe webs of material. Examples of various methods and apparatus whichmay be used to impart curl configurations to the material of the roll162 so that the decorative grass 152 produced therefrom possesses a curlconfiguration are described in co-pending application U.S. Ser. No.09/591,920, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Making Curled DecorativeGrass” which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.Crimping machines capable of imparting the desired crimp to the materialof the roll 162 so that the decorative grass 152 produced therefrompossesses a crimped configuration are well known and commerciallyavailable. One method for imparting a crimp configuration to thematerial of the roll 162 so that the decorative grass 152 producedtherefrom possesses a crimped configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,891,286, entitled “Method Of Forming Curled Or Crimped DecorativeElements Having An Optical Effect” issued to Weder on Apr. 6, 1999,which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

While the sheets of material 10, 10 a and 10 b and the materials fromwhich the sleeves 90 and 110, the ribbon material 140 and the decorativegrass 152 are constructed are shown and described herein as being formedof a laminate of cloth and polymeric film, in certain applications, ifdesired, one could utilize a non-laminated material, i.e., a layer ofpolymeric film and a layer of cloth. Therefore, the present invention isnot limited to the use of a laminated material for production of awrapper of sleeve for a flower pot or floral grouping, a ribbon materialor a decorative grass.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed:
 1. A decorative grass produced by cutting a laminatedmaterial into segments having a predetermined width, the laminatedmaterial comprising: a layer of cloth selected from the group consistingof woven fabric, non-woven fabric, welded fabric, spun-bonded fabric,knitted fabric, pressed fabric and combinations and blends thereof; anda layer of polymeric film having at least a portion of one surfacethereof laminated to the layer of cloth wherein at least one of thelayers of cloth or polymeric film is provided with a decorative patternor design.
 2. The decorative grass of claim 1 wherein the layer of clothhas a thickness in a range of from about 0.5 mil to about 30 mil, andthe layer of polymeric film has a thickness in a range of from about 0.5mil to about 30 mil.
 3. The decorative grass of claim 1 wherein thelayer of polymeric film is selected from the group consisting ofpolyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, cellophane, expandedcore polymeric film, and combinations thereof.
 4. The decorative grassof claim 1 wherein the layer of cloth is bonded to the layer ofpolymeric film with a tinted bonding material.
 5. A decorative grassproduced by cutting a laminated material into segments having apredetermined width, the laminated material comprising: a layer of clothhaving an upper surface and a lower surface, the layer of cloth beingselected from the group consisting of woven fabric, nonwoven fabric,welded fabric, spun-bonded fabric, knitted fabric, pressed fabric andcombinations and blends thereof; a first layer of polymeric film havingat least one surface thereof laminated to the upper surface of the layerof cloth; and a second layer of polymeric film having at least onesurface thereof laminated to the lower surface of the layer of clothwherein at least one of the layers of cloth, the first layer ofpolymeric film or the second layer of polymeric film is provided with adecorative pattern or design.